Cap marking mechanism for container capping machines



0. P, R. LEHMANN ETCAL' CAP MARKING MECHANISM FOR CONTAINER CAPPINGMACHINES Ma mh1f6 1943.

Filed Jan. 10,, 1941 0.Z?R.Lehmamz, RNBastook,

'1 Km m M 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 716, 1943,. O. P. R. LEHMANN 23 5 CAPMARKING MECHANISM FOR CONTAINER ,CAPPING MACHINES Fil ed Jan. 10, 1941 4Sheets-Sheet 2 I \Q 22 3 F ll Q 73 0. BR.Leh7nanIl/, I 12. II Bostock,

March 16, 1943. o. P. R. LEHMANN Em. 1 ,8

" C AP MARKING MECHANISM FOR CONTAINER CAPPING' MACHINES I Filed Jan.10. 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 so. J

Patented Mar. 16, 1943 iTE-D STATES PATENT OFFICE CAP MARKING For}. CON-TAINER CAPPING MACHINES Otto P. R. Lehmann, East Orange, and Raymond N.Bostock, Upper Montclair, N. 1., assignors to P. Ba'llantine & Sons,Newark, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application January 10, 1941,Serial No. 374,000

9 Claims. (-01. zet -cs) This invention relates to a mechani m formarkingmachine products to enable identificatl'on'of tl'le'l'riaichinewhich produced any given product and of the person in charge of themachine when the given product was produced, and

has particular reference to a mechanism for use in" association withbottle and can filling and capping machines to apply to the caps handledby each such machine a mark by which the particular machinewhich filledand capped any given bottle or can, as well as the particular may be inohai'geof different persons. Among a battery of such machines theremaybe one or more which is operating imperfectly, with the result thatthe bottled or canned goods do not reach the consumer in propercondition. For example, in the case of goods such as fermented orcarbonated beverages, it is necessary that the bottle-or can caps beappliedair tightly as otherwisethe beverage, when it reachestheconsumer, will beina flat condition. on the other hand, someimperfection in the filling mechanism of any particular machine mayresult in bottles or cans reaching the consumer in unsatisfactorycondition even though the, caps may beproperly applied.

When a bottle or can reaches the consumer in unsatisfactory condition acomplaint usually is lodged. There then devolves upon the producer thetask ofascertaining' the cause of the goods being received inunsatisfactory condition andof correcting the cause. This task isgreatlysimplified if the ca er the unsatisfactory bottle or can contains amark-indicative of the particular machine by which the bottle or can'wasfilled and capped and of the person in charge of the machine when theunsatisfactory bottle or can was filled and capped, as thereby thesearch for the cause of'the goods being received in unsatisfactorycondition is narrowed to a singiemachine and person. i

Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention is to provide ameclianisinioriusein association with bottle or can filling and capingmachines to apply to the caps handled by each suchinachine adistinc-tivemark by which the jiifiliili, as Well theparfllflar pe son in charge ofthe same when any given bottle or can was filled andjca'pped may readilybe identifled.

other special and important objects of the invention are: to provideamechanism for the purpose stated which is of simple construction;whichniay readily be applied to known types of capping machines withoutany necessity of ma terial alterations or additions thereto, and whichis thoroughly reliable and eflicient in operation.

With the foregoing and various other objects in view, which will becomemore fully apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood,the same consists in the novel combinationof the mark applying mechanismwith a cappingniachine, and in the novel features of construction,combination and arrangement of parts of the mechanism itself, as Will behereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings and defined in the appended claims.

In'the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of referencedenote corresponding parts in the different views:

Figure l is aside elevation of a capping machine, of a well known typehaving operatively ass'ociatdtherewith a cap marking mechanismconstructed in accordance with one practical embodiment of theinvention.

Figlir' 2 is a horizontalsecticn on the line 2- 2 ofFie 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the ap markin mechanism.

Figure 4 is' a central, vertical, longitudinal section through the capmarking mechanism.

Figure 5 is a rear elevation of the cap marking mechanism removed fromthe, capping machine.

Figure 6 is a rear elevation of the cap marking mechanism with the rearcover and mounting plate thereof removed.

Figure? is a vertical, longitudinal section on the line I---'! of Fig.6.

Figure 8 is a vertical, longitudinal section on the line 88 of Fig. 6.

igure 9 is a horizontal section oil the line Figure 10 is a vertical,transverse section on the line Ill-40 of Fig. 8.

Figure 11- is a horizontal section on the line ll -llo'fi ?ig.8; and gFigure 12 is a perspective view ot' one of the rack bar units of the capmarking mechanism.

Referring to the drawings in detail,.- A designates, generally, amachine of a well-known type forapplyirig closurecaps to liottls .or'cans' and for marking the caps handled by the machine A. The cappingmachine A includes, as usual, an annular series of capping heads H]which are intermittently rotatable as a unit to bring the headssuccessively into capping position; a hopper i i to contain the caps tobe applied to the bottles or cans which are understood to be fedsuccessively to capping position by means with which the invention isnot concerned and which therefore are not illustrated; a chute l2through which the caps gravitate from the hopperll to a position to beapplied by the capping heads to the bottles or cans, and achute-supporting bracket l3 depending from the hopper II.

The machine A includes, of course, various cooperating parts whereby thecapping heads [0 perform their function of applying caps to the bottlesor cans, but as the present invention is not concerned with the detailsof said machine,

same is illustrated only conventionallyin order to illustrate theapplication thereto of the cap marking mechanism with'which the presentinvention primarily is concerned. Moreover, it will be understood thatthe machine illustrated is only one of a number of specificallydifferent machines of the same general type to which the present capmarking mechanism is applicable."

Referring now in detail to the cap marking mechanism B, it will beobserved that the same includes a substantially rectangular metal block'Ifi'of suitable height, width and thickness having formed therethrough,from side to side thereof, a gear wheel-accommodating bore or chamber i5and also having formed therethrough, from fro'ntto rear" thereof, amarking element-accommodating bore N5 of preferably rectangular crosssection,'which is located midway between the sides of said block andabove the bore Hand in intersecting relationship at its bottom with thetop'of said bore 15.

Also formed in the block it, below and parallel to the bore l5 and inintersecting relationship at its top with the bottom of said bore I5, isa second gear wheel-accommodating bore I1, while formed in the bottom ofsaid block, midway between its sides and extending from front to rearthereof, is a rack bar-accommodating channel l8.

Additionally, the block [4 has formed therein a pair of verticallydisposed cap holding dogaccommodating recesses I9, i9 and a pair ofvertically disposed rack bar-accommodatingrecesses 20; 26. Theserecesses and channels open through the rear face of the block IA andsaid recesses are of lesser depth than said channels and are disposed'toeither side of a central, vertical rib 2i which they form, while saidchannels are disposed outwardly with respectto said recesses,respectively, and are located near the sides of the block M.

In. the ends of the bore are mounted'bearing members 22 and in saidbearing members is journaled a rotatable shaft 23 upon which are mounteda pair of spur gears 2 24 and, between the latter, a third spur gear 25.these gears being formed preferably as aunit and being pinned, keyed orotherwise suitably fixed to said shaft for rotation therewith. r

The spur gears 24, 2 3 and 25 are disposed'in the bore I5 and the gears24, 24 are respectively alined with the channels 20, which, at theirbottoms; intersect said bore, while the gear is alined with the bore 16.

Slidably mounted in the bore i6 is a rack bar 26 which is in mesh withthe spur gear 25 to be moved inwardly and outwardly by said spur gear,while slidably mounted in the channels 23, 20 are rack bars 21, 21,respectively, which are in mesh with the spur gears 24, 24,respectively, to be shifted vertically by said spur gears.

Disposed in the bore I1 is a plug 28 having a reduced inner endproviding a stub shaft 29 on which is rotatably mounted a pinion 30which is in mesh with the spurgear'25, while slidably mounted in thechannel 18 is a rack bar 3! with which said pinion 30 also meshes.Accordingly. the spur gear 25 is effective to shift the rack bar 31forwardly and rearwardly simultaneously with the rack bar 23. The plug28 may be securely fastened in the bore H by a set screw or in any othersuitable manner and is provided with top and side recesses toaccommodate the adjacent portions of the adjacent spur gear 24 and theadjacent rack bar 21.

In the recesses i9, i9 are disposed a lower pair of cap arresting dogs32, 32 and an upper pair of cap arresting dogs 33, 33. These dogs are ofinverted L-shape having. short, outwardly -extending arms 34 at theirtops and longer, downwardly extending arms 35, and they are pivoted,approximately at the intersection of their arms, on pins 36 carried bythe block M. lihe dogsof each pair are disposed in a common horizontalplane, one in one of the recesses l9 and the other in the other of saidrecesses, and each dog, at the lower end of its arm 35, carries arearwardly extending cap-arresting pin 3?. Suitable spring means tendconstantly to rotate the dogs of each pair in directions such'that theirarms'35 are urged toward one another, and suitable stop means limitrotation of said dogs by said spring means. Therefore, the dogs of eachpair have normal positions in which their pins 31.31am disposed closesttogether and from which they may be rotated against the yielding forceexerted by said spring means to spread their pins 33, 31 farther'apart.Inthe present instance the spring means referred to comprises acontractile coil spring 38 individual to each pair of the dogsconnectingtogether the pins 31,31 thereof, while the stopmeans referredto is'comprised by the side faces of the rib 2|. newev'er', any other,spring meansmay be employed to tend constantly to rotate the dogs in thedirections stated and any other suitable stop means may be provided inlieu of the side faces of the rib 2|. V

. Carried by the rack bars 21, 21 at the rear sides thereof are pawls39, 39, respectively, whichare disposed in the plane of the dogs 32 andwhich are pivotedintermediate their ends to said rack bars for inwardand outward. swinging move ments of their upper and lower ends. Suitablespring means such, for example, as light expansion coil springs 40interposed between the lower arms of said pawls 39 and blocks 4ifastened against the rear faces of the rack 'bars 21, tend constantly torotate said pawls in directions to urge their upper arms inwardly andtheirlcwer. arms outwardly, while suitable cammeans such, for example,as vertically disposed cam strips 32 fastened against the rear face ofthe block [4 outwardly of the rack bars 21, 2 'l,ic'oo:perate with said,spring means to ,control rotationjof said pawls in responsevto "verticalmovement of the same with the rack bars 21,21;

The inner edges of the cam strips 4:2:constitute the cam faces of saidstrips and in this connec tion' it will. be noted by reference to Fig.6Jofthe drawings that the inner edge of each strip.

42 includes a vertically disposed portion 43 and;

above this portion, a portion 44 which is inclined upwardly and inwardlytherefrom.

A plate 45 is suitably fastened against the bottom face of the block I4and serves to close the lower side of the channel l8 as well as thelower ends of the channels 20. Threaded in this plate are screws 46which extend upwardly into the lower ends of the channels and whichconstitute vertically adjustable stops engageable by the lower ends ofthe rack bars 21 to predetermine the lowermost limits of movement ofsaid rack bars- Normally said rack bars are disposed at their lower-mostlimits of movement against said stops, and in this connection it ispointed out that the pawls 39 are mounted onsaid rack bars at locationssuch that the upper ends of'their upper arms are disposed slightly belowthe outwardly extending arms 34 of thedogs 32 when said rack bars are attheir lowermost limits of movement. It also is pointed out in thisconnection that when the rack bars 21 are disposed at their lowermostlimits of movement the lower ends of the lower arms of the pawls 39' areengaged with thevertically disposed portions 43 of the cam edges of thestrips 42 at points spaced below the inclined portions 44 of said camedges. Furthermore, it is pointed out in this connection that when thelower ends of the lower arms of the pawls 39 are engaged with thevertically disposed portions 43 of the strips 42 the upper ends of theupper arms of said pawls are disposed in underlying relationship to theupper arms 34 of the dogs 32, and that when, by upward movement of saidpawls with the rack bars 21, the outer faces of the lower arms of saidpawls engage and move along the inclined portions 44 of the cam strips42, pivotal movement thereby is imparted to said pawls in directions toswing their upper ends outwardly beyond the outer ends of the upper arms34 of the pawls 32, not, however, until the pawls 39 have movedsufficient distances upwardly to effect, by the engagement of the upperends of their upper arms with the arms 34 ofthe dogs 32, pivotalmovements of said dogs in directions to swing their I outwardly and thusspread apart lower arms the cap arresting pins 31, 31 carried by saidlower arms.

At or near their upper ends the rack bars 121, 21

are suitably provided with rearwardlylextending projections 41 havinginner side portions in the path of vertical. movement of whichthe upper,outwardly extending arms 34 of the upper dogs 33 are disposed. When therack bars 21 are in their lowermost positions the inner side portions ofthe projections 41 are disposed in underlyingrelationship to the upperarms 34 of the upper dogs 33. Accordingly, by upward movement of therack bars 21 the inner side portions of the projections 47 are caused toengage the arms of'the dogs 33 andto rotate saiddogs in directions toswing their lower arms 35 outwardly and thus spread apart the caparresting pins 31, 37 carried by said lower arms. In this connection itis pointed out that the normal spacing of the projections 41 below thearms 34 of the upper dogs is greaterthan the normal spacing of the upperends of the :pawls '39 below the arms 34 of the lower dogsby an amountsuchthat the lower dogs 32 first are swung and then are released by thepawls 39 to be returned to their normal positions by their associatedspring means prior to the upper dogs being swung by the projections 41.

A plate 48 is fastened against the top of the piece l4 ane's'erv'es tcclose the upper] ends or the 7-3 cam edges of the recesses l9 and thechannels 20, and a plate 49 is fastened against 'therear face of saidblock and serves both as a cover for the described operatingpartslocated at the rear of said block as well as a base to be fastened to acapping machine for the purpose of operatively mounting the markingmechanism thereon.

Extending through the plate 49 are slots 50 which accommodate the pins31, while in the inner face of said 'plate are channels 5| which.accommodate the springs 33. Also extending through the plate 49 is anopening 52 which is alin'ed with and constitutes a continuation of thebore l6, while above and below said opening 52 and in vertical alinementtherewith said plate is provided at its rear side with verticallydisposed ribs 53 of a width corresponding to the width of the usualsight slot 54 in the front wall of the cap chute l2. Moreover, saidplate has extend- 1 ing therethrough a vertical slot5'5 which regis tersat its lower end with the rear end. of the channel l8 and whichaccommodates an upward extension 56 of the rack bar 3| at the rear endof said rack bar.

One end of the shaft 23 extends through and projects beyond the relatedbearing member 22 and has fixed thereon a shaft rotating arm 51 andloose thereon for rotation with respect thereto, a lever 58 for swingingsaid arm 51 and thereby rotating said shaft.

The lever 58 is rotatably mounted intermediate its ends on the shaft 23and includes an arm 59 extending downwardly from said shaft and an arm60 extending preferably upwardly from said shaft and having a pair ofspaced lugs 6i, 6! between which the free or upper end portion of thearm 51 is disposed. Between one side of said arm 51 and one of said lugsis interposed a coil spring62, while threaded in the other of said 1with apertured lugs 64 to accommodate bolts cs for fastening the markingmechanism B operatively upon a capping machine, and in this connectionit will be noted that in the present instance and by way of example themechanism B is, fastened to the bracket l3 of the machine A in aposition such that the plate 49 is disposed against the outer face ofthe cap chute [2 with the ribs 53 of said'plate disposed in the sightopening 54 of said chute so as to assist in holding the mechanism Bproperly positioned relative to said chute. Further in this connectionit will be observed by reference to Fig. 2 of the drawings that abracket arm- 66 is fastened to the bracket I3 and that said bracket armhas pivoted thereto, intermediate its ends, a lever 67 one arm 6-8 ofwhich is provided with a cam follower roller 69 and the other arm 70 ofwhich is connected with the arm 59 of the lever 58 so that rockingmovements of said lever 67 are transmitted to said lever 58'.

The lever 58 is rockable in a vertical plane. On the other hand, lever61 is rockable in a horizontal plane. Therefore, an articulatedconnection isprovided between the arms 59-ahdf 10- of said 'levers so asto permit free transmission of movement of said levers to each other. Inthe present instance this connection comprises a block 1| pivoted to thearm 53 for vertical swinging movement relative thereto, a block 12pivoted to said block 1| for horizontal swinging movement relativethereto, a block 13 pivotedto the arm 61 for horizontal swingingmovement relative thereto, a block 14 pivoted to the block 13 forvertical swinging movement relative thereto, and a stem 15 connectingthe blocks 12 and 14.

The stem 15 is carried by the block 14 and is threaded into the block 12so that the effective length of the'connection between the arms 59 and13 of the levers 58 and 61 may be, varied, while the bracket arm 66 islongitudinally slotted to accommodate the bolt or bolts by which saidarm is fastened to the bracket l3 so that said bracket arm may belongitudinally adjusted to bring the cam follower roller 63 of the lever61 into proper cooperative relationship to suitable cam means 16 foreifecting rocking movement of said lever 61 in one direction. This cammeans may be comprised, for example, by the outer side faces of thecapping heads l6 or by a cam ring fastened to the heads ID, forrotation'therewith. a

As the capping heads I6 rotated, the lever 61 is intermittentlyro'ckedby each of said heads or by a high part of the cam means individual toeach of said heads, and in this connection the arrangement is such asshown that the movement imparted to the lever 61 by the cam means 16 isin a direction to produce forward movement of the rack bar 26. On theother hand, suitable spring means 11 tends constantly to swing the lever61 in a direction to urge the cam follower roller 69 thereof toward thecam means 16 and to produce rearward movement of the rack bar 26.

The rack bar 26 is hollow and contains a marking element 18 the rear endof which extends through the rear end of said rack bar and is providedwith a suitable marking character 19. By any suitable means, such as alatch 86, the marking element 18 is retained in the rack bar 26 formovement therewith and so that it may' readily be removed and replacedby another marking element having a different marking character 19.

When the marking mechanism 13 is operatively mounted upon a cappingmachine A in the manner shown the cap arresting pins 31 project into thecap chute |2 for cooperation with caps 8| which are fed from the hopperthrough said chute to the capping heads ill, the front of the chute |2being suitably recessed if necessary to accommodate said pins 31.

When the arms 35, 35 of either pair of the dogs 32 or 33 are at theirlimits of movement toward one another the distance between their pins31, 31 is less than the diameter of a cap 8|. Thus, when the arms 33, 35of either pair of said dogs are at their limits of movement toward oneanother their pins 31, 31 act as stops to arrest downward movement ofcaps 8| through the chute |2. On the other hand, the amount of outwardmovement imparted to the arms 35, 35 of each pair of the dogs 32 and 33by upward movement of the rack bars 21 is such that the pins 31, 31 ofsaid arms are spread apart sufficiently to permit the caps 8| togravitate vtherebetween.

The pins 31, 31 of the lower pair of dogs 32 are located relative to themarking element 18 so that when a cap 8| is arrested and held by thepins of gravitating said lower pair of dogs the cap is positioned inalinement with said marking element 18.

The operation of the mechanism is as follows: Each time a high part ofthe.cam means 16 cooperates with the roller 63 the lever 61 is rocked ina direction to rotate the lever 68 and the arm 51 in a direction toimpart forward or retractile movement to the rack bar 26 and the markingelement 18 carried thereby, the spring 62 between the lever 66 and thearm 51 acting as a cushion to relieve the mechanism of shock, while eachtime a high part of the cam means passes the roller 69 the spring means11 acts to impart rearward or cap marking movement to the markingelement ,13. Moreover, each time the marking element 18 is movedforwardly or retracted the rack bars 21, 21 are moved upwardly, whileeach time the marking element 18 is moved rearwardly to effect markingof a cap the rack bars 21, 21 are moved downwardly.

Assuming that the rack bars, 21, 21 are disposed in their lowermostpositions; that a cap 8| is supported by the pins 31, 31 of the lowerpair of dogs 32 in alinement with the marking element 18; that a secondcap 8| is supported by the pins 31, 31 of the upper pair of dogs 33, andthat the marking element 18 is in its rearmost or cap marking positionto which it has been moved by the spring means 11 following release ofthe lever 61 as a result of a high part of the cam means 16 havingpassed the roller 69, the parts remain in said positions until the nexthigh part of the cam means 16 cooperate with the roller 69. Thereuponthe marking element 18 is retracted and the rack bars 21, 21 are movedupwardly. As a, result of initial upward movement of the rack bars 21the pawls 39 act to swing the lower pair of dogs 32 to move their pins31 apart and permit the marked cap 8| held. by said pins to pass betweensaid pins and gravitate to the lower end of the chute l2. Continuedupward movement of the rack bars 21 then results, first, in the pawls39, releasing the dogs 32 to return to their normal cap arrestingpositions under the influence of their associated spring 38 and, second,in actuation of the upper pair of dogs 33 by the projections 41 to movethe pins 31 of Said upper pair of dogs apart to permit the cap heldthereby to drop to the pins 31 of the lower pair of dogs 32 to be heldby the latter in position to be marked.

Following the foregoing operations the high part of the cam means 16passes the roller 69 and the latter is released, permitting the springmeans 11 to operate to move the marking element 18 rearwardly to effectmarking. of the cap 8| now held by the pins 31 of the lower pair of dogs'32, and to move the rack bars 21 downwardly. Upon downward movement ofthe rack bars 21 the projections 41 recede from the arms 34 of the dogs33 to permit said dogs to return to their normal positions to arrest thenext cap 8| delivered from the hopper and the pawls 39 ride over thearms 34 of the lower pair of dogs 32 and return to their initial positions below said dogs 32.

The caps 8| are providedas usual with sealing pads 82 and marking ofsaid caps is effected by the character 19 at the inner end of themarking element'lB upon these pads.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that for each rotative movementof the capping heads l0 corresponding to the angle between adjacent toprevent caps from dropping from marking position, and in that event acap held in position to be marked might undesirably be subjected torepeated markings in the absence of means to prevent such repeatedmarkings. In

this connection it is apparent that the rack bar 3| moves forwardly andrearwardly in harmony with the marking element 18 and that theupwardextension 56 at the rear end of said" rack bar 3| serves as a means forengagement with the top cap of an accumulation of caps in the lowerportion of the chute I 2 to stop rearward movement of the markingelement 18 before it has reached marking position. Thus, no cap willbemarked more than once even though the marking mechanism may beoperated repeatedly while there is an accumulation of caps in the lowerportion of the chute l2 preventing feeding of caps from the markingmechanism.

The invention contemplates the use of a marking element 18 individual toeach different person in charge of any given machine. In other words,

when any given person assumes charge of a machine that person willsubstitute his special marking element 18 in lieu of the marking elementemployed by the person previously in charge of the machine which, inaccordance with the invention, may be effected in a quick, facilemanner. Thus, mere reference subsequently to any given cap will serve toidentify not only the machine which filled and capp d any given bottleor can, but the person in charge of the machine when the particularbottle or can was filled and capped.

Without further description it is thought that the features andadvantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled inthe art, and it will of course be understood that changes in the form,proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to, withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appendedclaims.

We claim:

1. In a container capping machine including a cap delivery chute andmovable capping means having cam means movable therewith, meanscontrolled by said cam means for temporarily arresting each cap as itmoves through said chute and for then releasing the same to continue itsmovement through said chute, means also controlled by said cam means forapplying an identifying mark to each cap while it is temporarilyarrested, and other means also controlled by said cam means forpreventing repeated marking of any given cap in the event of anaccumulation of caps in said chute prevente ing movement of caps throughsaid chute from the position in which they are arrested and marked.

2. In a container capping, machine including a cap delivery chute andmovable capping means having cam means movable therewith, a mechanismmounted in operative relationship to said chute and two pairs of caparresting pins projecting into said chute, means operable under thecontrol of said cam means to move the pins In this connection, if, forany of each pair toward and away from each other at different times totemporarily arrest each cap said chute, and means also operating underthe control of said cam means to apply an identifying mark to each capwhile it is temporarily arrested.

3. In a container cappingmachine including a cap delivery chute andmovable capping means having cam means movable therewith, a mechanismmounted in operative relationship to said chute and including caparresting pins projecting into said chute, means including reciprocalrack barsfor moving said pins to temporarily arrest each cap as it movesthrough said chute and then to release same to continue its movementthrough said chute, a reciprocable marking element projectable into andretractable from said chute under the control of said cam means andeffective when projected to apply an identifying mark to each cap whileit is temporarily arrested, and gear means operating under the controlof said cam means to reciprocate said rack bars.

4. In a container capping machine including a cap delivery chute andmovable capping means having cam means movable therewith, meansoperating under the control of said cam means to temporarily arresteach'cap as it moves through said chute and then to release same tocontinue its movement through said chute, a rack bar reciprocable underthe control of said cam means, and a marking element removablyreplaceably carried by said rack bar and projectable into andretractable from said chute by said rack bar and effective whenprojected to apply an identifying mark to a cap while the same istemporarily arrested in its movement through said chute.

5. In a container capping machine including a substantially verticallydisposed cap delivery chute and movable capping means having actuatingmeans movable in harmony therewith, upper and lower pairs of laterallyspaced apart cap arresting pins projecting into said chute, meansoperable under the control of said actuating means to move the pins ofeach pair toward and away from each other in proper sequence totemporarily arrest each cap as it moves downwardly through said chute, areciprocable marking element projectable into and retractable from saidchute and effective when projected to apply an identifying mark to eachcap while same is temporarily arrested in its movement through saidchute, and rack bar and gear means operable under the control of saidactuating means to move said pins and to reciprocate said markingelement.

6. In a container capping machine including a cap delivery chute andcapping means, means for temporarily arresting each cap deliveredthroughsaid chute and for then releasing the same to continue its movementthrough said chute, means for applying an indentifying mark to each capWhile it is temporarily arrested, and other means-for preventingrepeated marking of any given cap in the event of an accumulation ofcaps in said chute preventing movement of caps through said chute fromthe position in which they are arrested and marked.

7. In a container capping machine including capping means and asubstantially vertically disposed chute through which caps gravitate tosaid capping means, a cap marking mechanism mounted in operativerelationship to said chute and'including upper and lower pairs oflaterally spaced apart pins projecting into said chute, means mountingthe pins of each pair for lateral movement toward each other to arrest acap descending through said chute and for movement away from each otherfto release an arrested cap to descend through said chute, means foroperating said pairs of pins alternately to temporarily arrest thedescent of each cap through said chute in a position to be marked, andmeans for marking each cap while same is in its arrested position.

8. In a container capping machine as set forth in c1aim'7, pivoted dogscarrying the cap arresting pins, and reciprocable' members cooperatingwith said pivoted dogs to swing same to efiect movement of the pins ofeach pair toward and away from each other.

9. In a container capping machine includin capping means and a chute forthe delivery of caps to said capping means, means for temporarilyarresting the movement of each cap passing through said chute to saidcapping means, an indexed element for marking each cap while same is inits arrested position, a movable carrier for said marking element, meansfor moving said carrier thereby to move said marking element to and fromcap marking position, and means mounting said marking element upon saidcarrier for quick and ready removal therefrom and for quick and readyreplacement by another marking element having a different marking index.

OTTO P. R. LEHMANN. RAYMOND N. BOSTOCK.

